


Influence

by falsteloj



Category: Bad Education (UK TV)
Genre: Ficlet, Gen, High School, M/M, School, Teacher-Student Relationship, Teenage Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-17
Updated: 2012-09-17
Packaged: 2017-11-14 10:15:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/514151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falsteloj/pseuds/falsteloj
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ficlet for the prompt: 'Joe and Alfie are dating. Alfie just hasn't realised it yet'. Might be a bit too subtle, but oh well...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Influence

Joe’s mother thinks that Alfie is a bad influence.

Joe knows because she told his Aunt Pat as much, right in front of him like he was too much of a child for his opinion to matter.

That, he thinks, is what he likes most about Alfie. For all the embarrassing situations he gets him into, Alfie doesn’t treat him like a child.

Instead they talk about this and that, and anything and everything, and even Alfie’s attempts with Miss Gulliver don’t sting too badly, because he must need a cover story, at least that’s what Stephen tells him. Chantelle lays a hand on his shoulder when it all gets too much, all earnest pout, and says that monogamy is so last century, anyway.

Joe chooses to overlook the glint in her eye, and reminds himself that it’s _him_ Alfie chooses to spend his time with. So what if they haven’t got past talking yet, except for that one time, but nobody had known just how potent Rem Dogg’s idea of drink lacing was going to be, and they haven't spoken about it since at any rate.

Everyone heard what Alfie had said during the exchange visit, and it doesn’t matter what Grayson says. They don't need to rush anything; ‘It’ isn’t the be all and end all. 

“This is nice, isn’t it?” Alfie asks one Saturday afternoon, when his mother is nowhere to be seen, and he’s given in and played best of three on Tokyo Sin, despite the fact that if Mitchell were to find out he’d never hear the end of it. “You and me, getting in some healthy teacher - pupil bonding. And Dr. Whittaker said I‘d never earn the respect of a banana. Well, look at me now.”

The last is said with a flourish Joe can’t help but smile at, a smile that Alfie returns tenfold.

He’s old enough to make his own mind up, Joe thinks. His mother’s opinion doesn’t matter.

**Author's Note:**

> As ever, feel free to chat / hit me with prompts over on Tumblr [@serenwib](http://serenwib.tumblr.com/) or Twitter [@falsteloj](https://twitter.com/falsteloj). :)


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